‘I’m Behind Schedule Every Single Day,’ God of War Director Talks Development

I recently got the chance to talk to God of War director Cory Barlog, and got his thoughts on a number of topics. One of the interesting tidbits Barlog shared with me was his thoughts on finishing development on the ambitious PS4 exclusive. “I am at my most exhausted right now, but also like weirdly energized,” admitted Barlog. “There are a thousand decisions to make every 10 minutes and it is just constant go, go, go, go all the time. I’m behind schedule every single day and there will be a point in the next three weeks probably where everything stops.”

Here’s the full quote from Barlog (read more of his thoughts in my interview) concerning the wrapping up of God of War PS4 development:

Yeah. It’s a really complicated time. You know, because I am at my most exhausted right now, but also like weirdly energized, you know, like energized because it’s done. Sad because it’s done right. There’s that description that I think pretty much every President talks about. That they’re surrounded by people and Secret Service and everything’s chaotic and crazy, and then the day that the last week of Service people drive off and they’re just Joe Citizen is that weird like silence that you experience. And my job isn’t like the President’s job, but there is that sense of it being chaotic. There are a thousand decisions to make every 10 minutes and it is just constant go, go, go, go all the time. I’m behind schedule every single day and there will be a point in the next three weeks probably where everything stops.

Read more about the upcoming PS4 exclusive by reading my God of War preview of the action game’s first two hours. Here’s a snippet:

The other big change is that Kratos has a son named Atreus who is central to both gameplay and the story. I didn’t realize it early on, but Atreus is actually the most interesting part of combat encounters. Not only could I command him to shoot arrows at enemies (causing a stun) by pressing the square button, but with careful positioning he could be used to draw the attention of dangerous foes. Since he doesn’t have a life bar to worry about, using your son as a diversion is a hugely beneficial tactic (especially in boss fights).

God of War isn’t just Santa Monica Studio doing something different for the sake of variety (although the series did clearly need a shake up after how dull Ascension seemed). Everything from its gameplay to storytelling has been changed for the better. By doing so, Sony has given one of its biggest franchises new life.

God of War is slated to release on April 20, 2018 exclusively for PlayStation 4.